No locations in Santa Maria meet approval for Battery Energy Storage Sites
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Santa Maria City Council is addressing a growing concern in light of recent events regarding clean energy storage.
On Tuesday night, the Santa Maria City Council discussed the potential construction of Battery Energy Storage Systems—or B.E.S.S.—within city limits.
“Really the public concern And our concerns for public safety were the main drivers of introducing this ordinance,” says Chenin Dow, Santa Maria community development director.
The city determined a B.E.S.S. facility must be built at least a quarter mile away from any residential neighborhoods, and also a quarter mile away from agricultural properties.
“That was part of the determination that council made, is that these facilities would need to be located not only in the M two zone, but the site would have to be at least one quarter mile away from any residential development or any residentially zoned property,” says Frank Albro, Santa Maria principal planner.
The overlap of these two zones, residential and agricultural, has led to the determination that there are no locations within city limits that would meet approval for any Bess applications at this time.
“For the city of Santa Maria? Our greatest concern is always the safety of our residents,” says Dow.
The recent fire at a Monterey County battery plant owned by Vistra energy weighed heavily on the discussion.
“We don't fully understand the total impact of that on those residents. There are complaints of respiratory issues and environmental issues that were caused by that. And our goal here is to avoid those consequences for the city of Santa Maria,” says Dow.
Vistra Energy recently withdrew its plans for a battery plant in Morro Bay.
Further zoning studies might reveal possible locations, but right now there aren't any entities applying to construct battery storage facilities within Santa Maria city limits.
